Iceland, part 1

Wow. What an amazing place! I think I will duplicate some of my journal writings to give you a sense of what it was like.
24 July
In Reykjavik. What a great little city. An interesting blend of European town and "the hood" (due to the great amount of grafitti everywhere). Buildings are somehwat modern and urban in appearance being made of concrete and metal. Relatively speaking, as far as Europe in concerned, Reykjavik is a baby. One or two very old looking buildings pop up here and there to make you think you are ages away except that they are then situated next ot a metallic structure that makes you wonder where you are.
25 July
In Landmannalaugar! What a crazy bus ride! 4x4ing, river crossings, perilous cliff edges, all on a full sized bus! I keep trying to compare it to places I know; "this reminds me of..." but I cant. Lava fields, pumice sand, rhyolite hills, steaming earth, river and green green grass make up this crazy landscape.
26 July
At Hrafntinnusker hut. If only I had vocabulary enough to describe our hike! The colors, the textures! What an amazing hike! First, the golds, oranges and reds of the rhyolite hills. Grasses and mosses a brilliant chartruse green among black dirt. Steaming vents all around adding a totally surreal effect, prehistoric. Magnificent hues, panoramic views. Primoridial. I can imagine the dinosaurs roaming here among the steamy vents and bare hills. Only the icy fields of glacial snow contradicts this image.
27 July
Today we got caught in the rain on and off all day, but not too cold or hard so it was fine. The hiking was actually pretty hard - steep up, steep down, repeat. The Icelanders do not believe in switchbacks and everything goes straight up and down, "shortest distance" one Icelander told me. We started out walking over big "fingers" like the glacier's icy fingers cut throught the earth then melted, leaving snow in the trenches. We had many snow bridges to cross but nothing too scary. Glaciers to the east of us - huge sprawling things covered with black dirt creating unusual patterns. Eventually we came to the "Kingdom of the Lord of the Rings". We overlooked emerald mountains shaped in odd peaks. In their shadow is a gigantic glacier that covers nearly the entire horizon framing the green peaks and valley. Rivers run through the valley and dark clouds loom overhead. Mist and fog add an eerie effect.

28 July

The hike today was wet and generally flat. A fairly nondescript hike in terms of scenery. We hiked through a black sand and gravel desert most of the way. Some grassy peaks around and a huge glacier beyond. Rain, rain, rain. Took a little side hike once we reached Emstrur hut (it cleared up for a bit) to an awesome canyon with a beautiful river flowing through. Our new friends, Ida and Allend, from Norway, joined us. Awesome.

20 July

We actually got an early start today - 8:30! Doing 9.5 miles today. Today our hike was very pretty, subtle, with a different twist. A huge canyon to our right and pretty rocky cliff-like areas, boulders and streams. Very pleasant. We had an interesting bridge to cross over the canyon, that required some ropes and chains and a very cold and fast moving river to ford. We then entered "Thor's Forest", the only "trees" in Iceland, I think. They are dwarf birches. The Icelanders say, "Lost in an Icelandic forest? Just stand up!"
30 July
Should we? Shouldnt we? So it went this morning in the grand debate whether to go over the pass or not. The warden said "Eh, some sun, maybe..." So, with a couple of blue sky patches overhead to encourage us, we decided to go for it, stop at the next hut to ask about weather conditions there and then decide whether or not to continue. The warden there said, "I would not hike the pass today." We headed back, defeated by weather, but doing the wisest thing. Took the long way around to the top of an amazing peak with incredible views and then took the bus back to Reykjavik.

Scroll down to find Iceland, part 2!!